Defense lawyers representing several of the men held on terrorism charges in an Ontario maximum security prison said on Monday their clients have been beaten by guards, threatened by other inmates and held in isolation.
The lawyers made the accusations outside the courtroom as preliminary bail hearings were about to get underway for the 17 suspects arrested on June 3.
Two had to be reprimanded in the courtroom when they shouted that they had been abused. "These wounds speak for themselves," they yelled from the prisoner box, holding up shackled hands.
A spokeswoman for the prison where most of the men are being held said the accusations were being investigated.
Several hours after the lawyers repeated the abuse accusations in court, the presiding justice issued a total publication ban on the bail hearings for all 17 suspects at the request of the crown prosecutor and one of the suspects.
The ban prohibits reporting on evidence presented in court during the bail proceedings. Proceedings involving the five suspects charged as young offenders were already subject to a ban. Because the lawyers initially made the abuse accusations outside of court on Monday those statements are not covered by the ban.
Bail proceedings in Canada are routinely subject to publication bans intended to keep potential jurors from being tainted by news reports.
Several defense lawyers objected to the gag order, saying the charges that the men plotted to terrorize Canada with truck bombs and other kidnappings are baseless and should be subject to public scrutiny.
"I want the public to know exactly the allegations against my client," said Rocco Galati, who represents Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, of Mississauga, Ontario.
Ghany is accused of participating in a terrorist group. "Up to now, the public has seen only what the police want them to see by filtering and selecting information."
David Kolinsky, who represents Zakaria Amara, 20, said his client was pinned to the ground a few days ago by a guard who poked his finger into Amara's cheek and flicked him in the eye. "His face is still sore," Kolinsky' said.
The men have been held at the Maplehurst Correctional Center in Milton, Ontario, west of Toronto. The maximum-security prison, one of the largest in Canada, holds about 1,100 inmates, said Julia Noonan, a spokeswoman.
"We take any allegations that come forward very seriously," she said, adding this was the first such complaint the facility had received.
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